Programme Policy Officer (GAFSP Nutrition Education), SC-8

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WFP encourages female candidates and people with disabilities to apply.

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide.  The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes.  Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

These jobs are found in Headquarters (HQ), Regional Bureaux (RBs) or Country Offices (COs) and job holders report to a more senior Programme Policy Officer.
Job holders are likely to be working under the close support and guidance of a more experienced professional staff member receiving guidance and regular feedback on work performed. They are typically involved in programme or policy activities or similar nature and analytical work of limited complexity. 

BACKGROUND:

The Government of Nepal received financial assistance from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (“GAFSP”), worth USD 12 million (USD 9 million investment grant and USD 3 million Technical Assistance grant) for implementing a project entitled “Vegetables in Hilly Areas Project (as part of the Nuts and Fruits in Hilly Areas (NAFHA) Project)” for 5 years.  Through consent from the Government ADB and WFP have been selected as Supervising Entities for the project.  As such, ADB manages the USD 9 million investment grant while WFP manages the Technical Assistance (TA) component of the project contributing to the Project’s Output 2: “production and productivity of project farmers increased”. This project is also part of WFP Nepal’s Country Strategic Plan (CSP), 2024-2028, Strategic Outcome 3: “Smallholder farmers and climate-vulnerable populations in Nepal benefit from climate-resilient and equitable food systems, sustainable livelihoods and climate-proof assets and services by 2028”. Apart from providing technical assistance in the effective delivery of activities of output 2, to be funded by ADB investment and GAFSP grant, the GAFSP’s technical assistance grant of USD 3 million will be used for activities that support smallholder farmers in the production of vegetables and nutritious crops. The project supports 10,000 HHs who have less than 0.2 Ha of land and lack financial resources for fruits and nuts orchard development and will be implemented in 100 Local Governments of 34 districts of five Provinces (Koshi, Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali and Sudur-Paschim) along the mid-hill highway. The major activities include: a) establishing and operationalizing Farmers Nutrition Schools (FNS) (400 FNS covering 10,000 farmers) focusing on climate-smart, nutrition-sensitive, and good agricultural practices and technology for the production of vegetables and nutrient-dense local crops; b) supporting household availability and utilization of nutritious food (seeds, diversity kits, chicken), c) training and support for home garden fruit plantation and irrigation for nutrition promotion, d) facilitating market linkage for smallholder farmers to localized markets leveraging the home-grown school feeding approach in community schools and e) providing Technical Assistance (TA) – guidance, oversight and monitoring for management of grants to the farmers for farming/production of vegetables, and nutrient-dense local crops. As part of WFP’s TA provisions, WFP is looking to recruit a highly motivated, experienced programme policy officer who will support the NAFHA project execution at different levels.

JOB PURPOSE

The Programme Policy Officer (Nutrition Education) shall be responsible for providing technical and operational support to the vegetable production, household nutrition and nutritious food production activities and capacity strengthening in line with WFP Nepal Country Strategic Plan (CSP) strategic outcomes, Government policies and programmes and Project Document. To provide support to policy and programme activities that effectively meet food assistance needs.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Position Title: Programme Policy Officer (GAFSP Nutrition Education) 
Contract Type: Service Contract (SC)
Level: SC-8 (Equivalent to NOA)
Contract Duration:12 months (renewable)
Duty Station: Kathmandu, National Center for Fruit Development (NCFD), Nepal 
Vacancy Number: 832389
Date of Publication: 04 April 2024
Deadline of Application: 17 April 2024

WFP offers a competitive benefits package including salary plus a medical insurance (www.cignahealthbenefits.com)

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

The Programme Policy Officer (GAFSP Nutrition Education) will work under the direct supervision of the Programme Policy Officer (GAFSP Project Coordinator) with overall guidance of the WFP Nepal CO, Deputy Head of Programme and Strategic Outcome Manager, the Head of Programme and senior management of WFP and in close coordination with Project Director and technical specialists based at NAFHA Central Project Management Unit (CPMU)- National Center for Fruit Development (NCFD). The incumbent will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Support CPMU for planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of nutrition intervention of the project.
• Contribute to the implementation of WFP Nepal’s Country Strategy Plan (CSP), corporate policies and programmes aligned with national policies (such as the Agricultural Development Strategy, Climate Change Policy, Nutrition Policy, and Strategy etc) and wider UN strategic focus areas related to nutrition, agriculture and livelihoods.
• Provide technical support to design, develop, and monitor nutrition education/social behaviour change communication (SBCC) strategies.
• Support to design and implement a comprehensive community-based SBCC campaign to raise awareness and relay messaging on the importance of nutrition diversification, through key modalities for SBCC messaging platforms including radio, mobile communication, peer support and local messaging.
• Support in the development of comprehensive communication tools and SBCC campaign materials and activities using evidence-based theories and methodologies.
• Assist in ensuring the quality of the training materials/guidelines/manuals and other reference documents to be developed for training facilitators and targeted beneficiaries related to nutrition.
• Provide technical guidance during the design of the training package on nutrition education to farmers’ groups at the community level.
• Participate in the training programme as one of the training resource persons and provide support to the CPMU and PIUs.
• Support DFTQC in the implementation of project interventions related to food safety, nutritive value analysis, and recipe development for implementing project activities.
• Support in the implementation of capacity enhancement training of field-level officials on agriculture-sensitive nutrition including the development of a training package and conducting training of trainers.

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• Assist in the preparation of technical and progress reports required for the supervision missions to be carried out by the Government, ADB, WFP, and GAFSP and other progress reports foreseen.
• Contribute to the design, implementation and analysis of the household food security and nutrition baseline/midline/end-line survey and other surveys related to nutrition.
• Provide technical support in the integration of nutrition education into agriculture and food security programmes.
• Support in the implementation of nutrition security interventions (including Home Nutrition Gardens, Farmer Nutrition School, and other activities necessary to overcome the identified nutrition-related development problems
• Provide technical support in the area of food-based nutrition and the development and evaluation of innovative nutrition education and communication strategies and tools for project interventions.
• Collaborate with national partners for nutrition education and communication, nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food-based nutrition.
• Assist WFP as and when required to support the functioning of the inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms within the Multi-Sector Nutrition Framework and ensure links between the different sectors for nutrition integration.
• Contribute to the design, implementation and analysis of household food security and nutrition in baseline/midline/end-line surveys and other surveys related to nutrition.
• Provide technical backstopping and support for, MoALD, CPMU, PIUs and TA staff on food and nutrition security, SBC and FNS.
• Contribute to the organization of and/or participate in meetings, conferences, workshops, consultations, and field visits as needed; contribute to building collaborations and partnerships.
• Submit monthly work plan, guide provincial coordinators and J/TAs to prepare success stories, quarterly and annual reports related to the Nutrition sector and prepare consolidated project report as per the format developed by the project including project result frame indicator.
• Contribute to effective communication and coordination with field/district/central project teams, WFP, and other stakeholders.
• Perform other related duties as assigned by the immediate supervisor.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Masters/Advanced university degree in Public Health, nutrition and food technology or related field or First University Degree with additional years of related work experience and/or training/courses.

Language: Excellent proficiency in both oral and written English and Nepali languages.

DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE

• At least one year of relevant professional experience in SBCC around public health and nutrition, operational research, and design of nutrition education and SBCC tools, FNS, WASH, marketing. More years of experience in the relevant field is desirable.
• Has experience in liaising with government partners, has good negotiation skills and ability to communicate effectively, and has provided input into policy discussions and decisions.

DESIRED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

• Sound understanding of agriculture especially the vegetable/grain sector, nutritious food system (home garden and small livestock), agriculture and nutrition policies, programmes, and approaches in Nepal, understanding of approaches to climate change adaptation will be an added advantage.
• Sound knowledge, skills and experience in business development/project/programme design and management.
• Ability to write clear and concise technical documents with short deadlines, with multi-tasking skills.
• Ability to perform well in cross-disciplinary teams.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• General knowledge of UN system policies, rules, regulations, and procedures in the area of work is an advantage.
• Must be familiar with MS Office.
• Nepali Typing skill is an asset.This section is optional to describe additional responsibilities & knowledge required for the specific job.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK: COMMON STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOUR

All WFP Employees are expected to demonstrate the competencies and standards of behaviour aligned with our core values defined in the WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK, namely:

Leads by example with Integrity
Drives results and Delivers on commitments
Fosters inclusive and collaborative teamwork.
Applies strategic thinking
Builds and maintains sustainable partnerships

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HOW TO APPLY 

To be considered, interested candidates are invited to apply via (https://www.wfp.org/careers/job-openings). Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. 

Request for Disability related Reasonable Accommodations:  

It is important to WFP to create an accessible and inclusive workplace for everyone.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.  If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the selection and hiring process, please direct your request and inquiries to nepal.hr@wfp.org. A member of the HR team responsible for reasonable accommodation will contact you to confidentially discuss your needs.  

This email is only to be used for any disability related accessibility requirements and not for sending the application itself. Due to the volume of applications, any applications or CVs sent through this email address will not be considered a formal application and will not receive a reply from WFP. 

WFP has a zero-tolerance approach to conduct such as fraud, sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to WFP’s standards of conduct and will therefore undergo rigorous background verification internally or through third parties. Selected candidates will also be required to provide additional information as part of the verification exercise. Misrepresentation of information provided during the recruitment process may lead to disqualification or termination of employment

WFP will not request payment at any stage of the recruitment process including at the offer stage. Any requests for payment should be refused and reported to local law enforcement authorities for appropriate action.